


You See Me?

by stupidnephilimlove



Series: October fic fest [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Character Death, Ghosts, M/M, SHFallFic, Spirits, Week 2: Came Back Wrong, but for only a few minutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-13 16:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21000857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidnephilimlove/pseuds/stupidnephilimlove
Summary: 'It's Wednesday, it's raining, Alec's late to meet Isabelle, and he sees the car too late. He lies on the concrete, water soaking his clothes as the paramedics work on him. And for two minutes and thirty-three seconds, Alec's heart stops.It's the third shock from the defibrillator that yanks him back into the world of the living.Alec's twenty-six when he dies, twenty-six when he comes back, but he doesn't come back the same. He's uncertain whether he leaves a part of himself behind or if he brings a part of something else back with him. But slowly the awareness grows, and he just knows... he's wrong.'





	You See Me?

It's Wednesday, it's raining, Alec's late to meet Isabelle, and he sees the car too late. He lies on the concrete, water soaking his clothes as the paramedics work on him. And for two minutes and thirty-three seconds, Alec's heart stops.

It's the third shock from the defibrillator that yanks him back into the world of the living. 

Alec's twenty-six when he dies, twenty-six when he comes back, but he doesn't come back the same. He's uncertain whether he leaves a part of himself behind or if he brings a part of something else back with him. But slowly the awareness grows, and he just knows... he's wrong.

-

The itchiness of the hospital gown is the first thing Alec notices when he wakes. Then the realisation of what wearing a hospital gown means, and everything floods in on him.

"Nice to see you're awake," a lady's voice says, and Alec turns his head at the sound. 

A nurse stands, smiling softly at him. "How are you feeling?" she asks.

Alec takes a moment to consider. "Sore and tired," he settles on.

"That's to be expected. The doctor will be round shortly, and with you awake, he might even release you today."

She gives him another smile, says she'll be back shortly, and then leaves.

Alone, Alec has only his thoughts to contend with. So he's thrilled when not five minutes later, Isabelle walks in, carrying a cup of coffee.

"Alec," she says in surprise and Alec sees the relief in her face. 

Managing to set the coffee cup down without spilling it, she dashes over to him and before he knows it, she's hugging him close. Alec winces as pain shoots through him. 

"Sorry," Isabelle says, pulling back. "God, don't _ever_ do that to me again."

She sniffles a little as she speaks and though it's not like Alec planned to be here, he still says, "I promise."

Isabelle shuffles onto the bed next to him and they sit like that for a few minutes.

"The nurse said the doctor will be by soon, and now that I'm awake, might even get released today."

Isabelle frowns, shifting to look at him. "What? Which nurse? The doctor was by this morning, and you're looking at _at least_ another two days."

"The brunette, with long hair tied back in a ponytail. Slim. Around your height."

"Doesn't sound like any of the nurses that have been looking after you."

It's a little strange, but Alec doesn't dwell on it, focusing on reassuring Isabelle that he really is okay.

It's another week before Alec's discharged. When he's finally greeted freedom and they wheel him out to the car - he can walk, but it's hospital policy, apparently - he notices how busy it is.

"It's a little overcrowded," Alec observes.

Isabelle shrugs as he's pushed down the hallway. "Hmm? Seems normal to me." 

Normal? Alec wonders how they could fit any more people in here.

Then he notices they're headed straight for a young girl. He lifts a hand, calls out, but it's no use. Alec expects a collision, but instead, the wheelchair and Alec pass straight through her.

"You okay?" Isabelle asks.

Alec nods. Yep. He's good. Feeling a little weird.

They must have him on some strong meds, he thinks.

-

Alec relishes his own space once he's home, and he sighs blissfully when he sinks into the comfort of his own bed. As comfy as the hospital one might have been, it's got nothing on _his_ mattress. Alec pulls the covers up around himself and quickly drifts to sleep.

He's not certain what wakes him, but when Alec cracks his eyes open it's still dark. He reaches for his phone to check the time. It illuminates the room and the figure sitting at the end of his bed. And Alec fumbles his phone, holding back a scream.

Alec blinks. But the man - the intruder - is still sitting there. Panic rising, Alec slides from the bed, groping for something, anything to defend himself. He ends up plastered against the wall by the door with a hanger in his hand.

Through all this, the man doesn't move, just sits there and Alec doesn't talk to him, doesn't ask any questions. He grips his phone and the hanger and, as quickly as his banged-up body will allow, he flees the house.

"There's someone in the house," Alec says, tone frightened and a little manic as the words tumble over one another. 

"Alec?" Isabelle's tired voice comes down the line. Alec's not sure why he called her and not the police or Jace. Perhaps because Isabelle can usually put him at ease.

"There's someone in the house, Izzy," he says again.

He can hear her moving, the shuffle of sheets. "Did they attack you? Are you safe?"

"I'm safe. Locked in the car. They were... there was a man sitting on my bed," he says. And even though he experienced it only a few minutes ago, as he says those words, he realises how odd that sounds.

"Stay there," Isabelle says. "I'll grab Jace and we'll be there in ten."

True to her word, ten minutes later, Jace knocks on the car window. Alec jumps at the noise. Isabelle gets in the car with Alec while Jace - baseball bat in hand - goes in to check the house.

He's not sure it's the best idea, but he's too exhausted to comment.

When Jace comes back out, he gets into the back seat. 

"No one there," he says.

Alec twists to look at Jace, wincing at the sting in his ribs at the movement. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

The three of them put the whole ordeal down to the drugs and the stress of coming home. But Alec willingly accepts Isabelle's invitation to stay with her for a few days.

-

Alec's not in terrible pain anymore. It's enough that he needs to take the pain meds, but he's finding it easier to move around. He takes the doctor's advice to get some light exercise each day, and on the third day staying at Isabelle's, Jace joins him on his morning walk.

"Just once round the block," Jace says, as they head out. "Don't want you overdoing it."

Alec appreciates the concern and though he might outwardly bristle at the idea of more than once round the block being overdoing it, he has to admit that halfway round he feels pretty winded.

"Should we check if he's okay?" Alec asks, nodding his head towards the teenager stood on the corner in a bloody sweater.

"Who?" Jace asks.

"The kid over by the store."

Jace looks at the store. Then back at Alec. There's a frown on his face.

"There's no one there, Alec," Jace says.

Alec looks again, and the kid still stands there.

"Okay... think we overdid it. One block was too much," Jace says. And without further comment, they head back to the house. Though Alec can sense Jace's concern with every step.

-

It's at the subway a few days later that things drastically change. It's Alec's first time out on his own since the whole ordeal, and he's feeling stronger as he walks onto the platform to catch his train. It's not for a few minutes and there's a bench at the far end. A young woman sits alone, and as Alec walks up, he asks, "Am I okay to sit?"

He might be stronger, but he's still not at 100%.

The woman stares at him in what Alec thinks is surprise.

"You can see me?"

"Yeah," Alec says. Of course, he can see her.

"And hear me?"

Okay, this is weird, and Alec doesn't respond.

"Yes, of course. Sit," the woman says. 

Once Alec has, she sputters out, "Can you do something for me?"

"Um... I can try?" Alec wishes he was still standing.

She tells him a number and asks if he can call and let Jerry know that Kevin's football boots are in the dog kennel; she put them there to keep the smell out of the house and she knows he'll never think to look for them there.

It seems an odd request, but... Alec decides why not. Good deeds and all that.

There's no signal in the subway so he promises her he'll do it once he's got some.

As the train pulls up, Alec stands and asks, "Getting on?" 

"Oh... no. I'm waiting for a different train," she says.

Alec takes a step away, then turns back to her. "I didn't catch your name."

"Jenny Matthews," she says with a soft smile. "And thank you."

Alec's left with a weird feeling over the whole interaction as he boards the train, but as Alec promised, once his train journey is done and he's got signal, he dials the number.

"Hello," a rough, male voice says when the call connects.

"Hi, is that Jerry?" Alec asks.

"Yeah."

"Great. Kevin's football boots are in the dog kennel," Alec says. Then, realising just giving that information without any explanation might seem weird, he adds, "Jenny asked I call and-"

"Is this a joke?" Jerry's voice sounds angrier and Alec doesn't understand what he's done wrong.

"Um, no. I saw her at the train station just now," Alec explains.

"You sick fuck. Make you feel big to prank people over their dead wives, huh?" 

And then the line goes dead.

_Prank. Dead. _Alec plays that last sentence over in his mind. There's this nagging sick feeling in his stomach. To settle it, Alec does a quick google search of news articles and Jenny Matthews. Scrolling through the list, one catches his eye. He clicks it and the sick feeling intensifies.

Because on the screen is a picture of Jenny Matthews. The same Jenny Matthews that had an aneurysm on a subway platform two weeks ago and died. 

Alec exits out of the browser and stuffs his phone in his pocket. He doesn't know what's happening. He can't understand it. It's just a prank. A misunderstanding. Something.

Or maybe he's losing his mind.

-

It gets worse from there. He finds himself talking to people who aren't there, only realising once someone gives him a strange look, or the person he's with asks who he's talking to. Some of the people he sees and talks to are shocked, others don't respond, some don't even acknowledge he spoke, and then there are the ones that terrify him. The ones that give him the heeby jeebys, and though that's not a technical term, it's the only way he can describe it.

Alec stops leaving the house, thankful that he's self-employed and can work from home. That doesn't help with the man that keeps appearing at night. And to deal with that, Alec starts sleeping on the couch. 

It's not a long term solution, but it's the only way he can deal with it right now. He can't live at Isabelle's place forever.

-

It's Isabelle that decides enough is enough.

A month after Alec died, Isabelle sits down on his sofa, takes one look at his ragged beard, dishevelled hair (even more than usual) and the bags under his eyes, and says, "Okay, what's the matter?"

It takes a lot of finagling on Isabelle's part, but eventually, Alec admits what's going on.

"I'm seeing people that aren't there."

Isabelle doesn't respond instantly, but after a few minutes she says, "Okay, give me an example?"

The only one that he can truly explain is Jenny Matthews, so he takes her through it, even pulls up the news article online.

"Let me look into this," Isabelle says once Alec's finished his story. There's no judgement in her eyes and Alec's relieved. Even knowing her as well as he does, a part of him worried she'd just laugh this off. Or worse... think him crazy.

"You're not having me committed then?" he asks, and he's only half-joking.

Isabelle wraps an arm around him and squeezes gently. "We'll figure this out, Alec. Promise."

And Alec knows that no matter what's happening, Isabelle will be there for him.

-

Two days later, Isabelle sits on his sofa again.

"I went to see Jerry Matthews," she says.

Alec turns to look at her. Why the hell would she do that? Hasn't the man been through enough?

"I was very polite," Isabelle says, seeing Alec's expression. "I told him I was doing an article on harassment for those who'd recently lost spouses. And you know what?"

"What?" Alec asks after a few minutes.

"He said it was the strangest thing. That a guy called and he thought it was harassment, but those football boots the guy talked about actually _were_ in the dog kennel. He said maybe it was a message from his wife after all."

Alec stares at his hands. That's... good? Alec's not sure how this really helps him. 

"Do you trust me?" Isabelle asks.

"Yeah, of course."

"Okay, I made an appointment for you."

_Oh._ So there really is something wrong with him.

"With Magnus Bane," Isabelle continues. "He's a medium, with the best recommendations I could find."

That's not the appointment Alec was expecting. And though he's sceptical, he willingly agrees because, at this point, he'll try anything.

-

Alec stands outside the store, eyeing the window display of crystals and says, "Are you sure about this?"

Isabelle pushes the door open, turning to him. "Just give it a shot? What have you got to lose?"

At this point? Not much.

Alec follows her inside, eyes moving over the trinkets. 

A man looks up from the table in the middle of the room and, as Alec does with every person he meets these days, he wonders if the man's real. He hopes so. The man's expressive face lights up at the sight of the two of them, lips turning up into a smile and causing crinkles at the corners of the man's darkly lined eyes. 

Alec hasn't had the time or the mental capacity for his libido to exist recently, but desire flares, sharp and unexpectedly in his gut. 

"Isabelle?" The man asks, and to Alec's relief confirms he is real.

"Yes. Magnus?" Isabelle responds.

Oh. _This _is Magnus?

"Yes, my dear," Magnus confirms before shifting his gaze to Alec. "And this must be the man in question. Hello, Alexander."

The way Magnus' eyes rove over him, and the assessing look that settles into what Alec thinks is approval, have Alec wondering if Magnus felt that same punch of desire. 

But... that's not why he's here, Alec reminds himself.

"Hi," Alec says, unable to hide his awkwardness.

"Why don't you both take a seat," Magnus says, gesturing to the table in the middle of the room with a flourish.

As they do, Magnus heads to the door and turns the open sign to closed.

"Isabelle explained a little to me, but why don't you tell me yourself what the problem is?" Magnus asks, joining them.

Alec looks at Isabelle, who gives him an encouraging smile.

"I'm seeing people who aren't there," Alec says as explanation.

Magnus' face is thoughtful as he leans back in his chair and asks, "Why do you say they aren't there?"

"Um... because no one else can see them." 

Magnus hums softly. "And why does that mean they're not there?"

Alec shifts his gaze to Isabelle again. This guy was highly recommended? Handsome though Magnus may be, Alec needs help, real help.

"Alexander," Magnus says, drawing Alec's attention back. "Given what Isabelle described, I think you've been touched with the sight. You can see between the veil, of the now and the hereafter, to those who still linger unseen on this plane."

That's... well, that's a lot to process. Especially given that Alec doesn't believe in the afterlife.

"Can I become untouched?" Alec asks and that earns a laugh from Magnus. "No, seriously. I don't know what's real and what isn't anymore."

Isabelle continues to sit quietly by Alec's side and Magnus shakes his head.

"Unfortunately, I don't know a way to become _untouched,_" Magnus says, echoing Alec's choice of word back to him, and there's a touch of innuendo in the way he says it. Alec doesn't exactly mind though. In fact, he kind of likes it. "I can, however, help you to distinguish between the living and the dead."

"You can?" Alec asks. His question half-hope, half-cynicism.

There's a smug smile that plays over Magnus' lips. "Yes, Alexander, I can. Though, I have one request?"

Alec gestures for Magnus to continue, expecting a request of an absurd amount of money in return for Magnus' help.

"If this works, you agree to go for a drink with me."

That's definitely not a request for money and Alec feels his cheeks heat at the request. He thinks Magnus is teasing him.

"Um... okay."

"Good. Now, first, you need to accept that everything you're seeing is real."

That's easier said than done.

"I can try?" Alec says.

Magnus' smile turns softer. "That's all I ask." 

Magnus asks more questions, listens intently to the answers and then he gives Alec homework. It's vague, the suggestion that Alec should concentrate on a person, should try to see more than what his eyes can show him. It sounds like a pile of nonsense to Alec, but he agrees to try and come back in a few days time.

Alec's still somewhat sceptical that Magnus' advice will help, but as Isabelle said when they walked into the store, what does he have to lose?

"Thanks," Alec tells Isabelle as they walk home. Whether this works out or doesn't, Alec's grateful she's helping.

She threads her arm through his and rests her head on his shoulder as they walk. "What are sisters for?"

-

Alec follows Magnus' directions, and he gets a lot of odd looks over the next few days. It turns out quite a lot of people don't take to kindly to being stared at. With resignation, Alec heads to Magnus' store. As he turns onto Magnus' street, there's a woman with greying hair crossing the street and Alec watches. Her movement is slow, tired, and he's worried a car will come before she's reached the other side. And that's an experience he knows isn't that pleasant. 

And then something happens, he can't explain it, can't say what he sees or doesn't see that tells him, but he instantly knows. She's dead. A car comes hurtling down the street, showing no signs of stopping and Alec doesn't call out. There's no need. The car passes straight through her.

"I just saw a woman on the street and I could tell." The words rush out of Alec as he steps into the store and he almost walks right into Magnus.

Magnus holds his hands out to steady Alec, smiling fondly. "Hello, Alexander."

"Hi," Alec says. 

He's not sure if he's breathless from hurrying in or from the way Magnus is so close. Alec can't help his eyes from dropping to Magnus' lips. Flushing, Alec takes a step back.

"I don't know how I knew, I just knew," Alec says.

Alec can see the heat in Magnus' eyes. Magnus clears his throat. 

"Fantastic," Magnus says.

Alec's overcome with gratitude. With what this breakthrough means for him. "Thank you."

Magnus shakes his head. "There's no need."

"No. Really, if this keeps working, you've given me my life back."

There's a bashfulness to Magnus all of a sudden and Alec doesn't mean to make him uncomfortable, but he wants Magnus to understand how much this means to him.

"And I guess," Alec says. "That means I owe you a drink."

"You know I was joking about that right?"

Alec shrugs. "So you _don't_ wanna go for a drink?"

"Alexander," Magnus says, bringing a hand rest on Alec's bicep. "I would love to go for a drink with you."

And it's the first good thing to come out of Alec's near-death experience.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/ironbibliomane) or [tumblr](https://stupidnephilimlove.tumblr.com/).  



End file.
